Wineries in South Tyrol

We give our fellow men and women a better understanding of sincere wine through natural sensory perception. We say “less is more”, we deal with our resources gently, and we hope to stimulate reflection. We see the soil in our vineyard as the most important ASSET.

Our task is to protect the vineyards, to create an environment for them in which they feel good. Nevertheless, we have to admit that winegrowing is an intensive form of agriculture. For that reason, we have decided to work together with nature, to stand by the grapevines in support, and consequently to deliver genuine wines year after year.

We strengthen our vines so that they are prepared in advance for changes. We manage 2.5 hectares on gravelly quartz phyllite at elevations between 550 and 700 meters above sea level. In the winery, we intervene as little as possible. No frills, just AUTHENTIC, LIVING WINE. Our wines are juicy, they are quaffable and go down easily. Anyone who drinks our wine ought to eat, laugh, and speak a lot.

Elena Walch is actually an architect, but in the 1980s, when she married into the Walch winegrowing family in Termeno, wine became the main focus of her life. Since that time, it has been with commitment, self-confidence, and no compromise that she has implemented her ideas of sustainability in the vineyard and the winery and developed her terroir wines.

Even though Walch crossed over from a sector that was distant from wine, she soon became a forerunner and a pioneer of a wine philosophy which, forty years ago, was still broadly new. Quality became her guiding idea, and it was to be pursued without compromise: “With the finest terroir wines, we raised the quality standards of the region to a new level,” she says today, with self-confidence. And that is also attested to by independent experts. Thus the terroir wines of the two single vineyards of her estate winery – Castel Ringberg in Caldaro and Kastelaz in Termeno – are highly respected products that have received numerous awards and have found their place on the best wine lists around the globe. And both locations were included in the exclusive VIGNA list of vineyards, through which the origin of single vineyard wines is guaranteed.

The attention with which Elena Walch harvests proves that her linearity is in the right direction. In addition, the general development has proven her correct when what is concerned, for instance, is sustainable work in the vineyard and in the wine cellar. “Our particular attention along those lines was always paid to the support of the vine’s own self-defenses,” says the pioneer from Termeno.

In the meantime, Walch has also transferred her philosophy to the next generation. Today, she runs the family estate winery along with her daughters, Julia and Karoline.

Interested can see at the show destillery very closely as fine noble fires originate. They get to know like aromas from very best fruit into the fires are integrated and of course(naturally) the fuel process is explained(declared) to you in detail. And you will learn the different smells.

History consists mostly of rock. At the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio, for instance, the wines age in large wooden barrels in a cellar that dates back centuries. But even more impressive are the powerful Lagrein grapevines of the Larcherhof which themselves are more than a hundred years old. As can been seen with them, history lives.

The vineyards of the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio belong to the classic Santa Maddalena cultivation zone which is distinguished by a mild, nearly Mediterranean climate, by hot days and cool nights at the time of maturation, and by warm porphyry soils and loose alluvial soils. The Spögler family has five hectares of grape growing area here. “We manage our vineyards in an environmentally-friendly way that is close to nature, without herbicides or insecticides,” explains Hans Jochen Spögler.

The vineyards are planted with Merlot, Schiava, and Pinot Grigio. And above all with Lagrein, which is to be understood as such a typical variety for Alto Adige. From the vineyards of the Larcherhof in Bolzano-Rencio, it is made into wines of different forms: Lagrein, Lagrein Kretzer rosé, Lagrein Riserva. The winegrowing tradition of the Spögler family, which runs the Larcherhof, dates back to 1893. But only since 2008 have they been making and bottling their own wines. In the meantime, production has risen to 45,000 bottles per year, a figure that will continue to grow further in coming years.

In Santa Maddalena, tradition is written with capital letters, and the Plonerhof Estate Winery in Bolzano is no exception to that. On the contrary, the farmhouse itself goes back to the thirteenth century, and the vines with which Simon Geier works are over seventy years old. So with so much history, a careful, gentle approach is practically a self-evident fact.

In the vineyard of the Plonerhof Estate Winery in Maddalena di Sotto, therefore, prudence and work that is close to nature are called for, which in turn means: a lot of work by hand. That is in fact associated with a certain degree of toil, but it also has its effect upon the quality of the grapes. “When we work in the vineyards by hand, we achieve a great degree of control because we experience the grapes with all five senses,” Geier explains.

Added to work by hand is the fact that herbicides are totally avoided, and they almost completely do without insecticides. “We only have to act against the spotted wing drosophila, because otherwise it would destroy the entire harvest,” the winegrower tells us.

Once the harvest is brought in, classic Santa Maddalena is made from Schiava and Lagrein grapes in the estate’s own winery, as well as a fruity Lagrein and a cuvée of Yellow Muscat and Pinot Blanc. With their wines, the Plonerhof Estate Winery has also brought home a whole series of prizes and awards. So anyone who understands how to deal with ancient grapevines is rewarded with the highest quality. The Methuselahs are, so it seems, in a generous mood.

“Five hectares, respect for nature, and no hocus pocus.” The philosophy of an estate winery cannot be described more briefly – or more accurately – than Kurt Rottensteiner does for his Brunnenhof in Egna. A philosophy that is also supported by the fact that the Brunnenhof is situated in Mazzon, one of Alto Adige’s best Pinot Noir areas.

Nature has therefore meant well for the vineyards of the Brunnenhof in Egna-Mazzon, for which the Rottensteiner family is grateful: since 2011, they have been running their estate winery according to ecological guidelines, and it is organic certified. “Our vineyards need to stay lively,” Kurt Rottensteiner says, since “The more vitality and fullness in the vineyards, the more will later on be in the wine.”

That holds true without making sacrifices for all of the locations and varieties at the Brunnenhof. Manzoni Bianco grapes have been thriving on the scree cone of the Rio Trodena and, since 1921, Lagrein vines! Added to these are Gewürztraminer, and Yellow Muscat, but above all else Pinot Noir. “The sandy loam soils, the wind exposure, the midday sun, the Ora wind from Lake Garda, and the cool nights: all of these are the perfect conditions,” explains Rottensteiner.

And the winegrower also abstains from hocus pocus above all else in the winery. In the vaulted cellars of the Brunnenhof that stay pleasantly cool in the summer, white and red wines mature, whereby the latter are without any small oak casks. “We don’t want the tannin and the vanilla flavor of wood, but rather more of the wine’s own tannins and its own fruit,” says Rottensteiner, aiming for wines that tell their own story. Without, in fact, any hocus pocus.

The Kettmeir Winery in Caldaro has existed since 1919. Or to put it better, the winery has existed since 1919, but they have also been making sparkling wine since 1964. Today, Kettmeir relies upon 60 suppliers who cover a broad winegrowing area. It ranges from Caldaro up to Soprabolzano on the Renon plateau in the north and down to Pochi above Salorno in the south.

Shortly after the end of the First World War, the agronomist Giuseppe Kettmeir built a winery in Caldaro. For nearly 50 years, the production of quality wines was the only pillar of the Kettmeir Winery, until the potential of sparkling wines was recognized in 1964. “As far as the production of sparkling wine is concerned, we are among the pioneers in Alto Adige and have made our contribution to reviving this tradition,” they say at the Kettmeir Winery.

Since 1986, this winery in Caldaro has belonged to the Santa Margherita winegrowing group, but the focus of its activity did not change with this event. Today, 60 winegrowers supply the winery with grapes that originate from 55 hectares of vineyards. The core is those in Caldaro, from which Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Red Muscat originate. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are also supplied by estates in Pochi, while the Ebnicherhof in Soprabolzano provides the winery with Müller Thurgau grapes.

Out of this diversity, Kettmeir creates exquisite sparkling wines – and since 1992 using only the classic méthode champenoise. “It is the most complex way of producing sparkling wine,” they say at the winery, “but also the most elegant.”

Everyone knows that all roads lead to Rome, but some people also blaze trails going in the opposite direction. For instance, in 2004 Nino Motta moved with his family from the Eternal City to Gleno above Montagna in order to produce wine there at the Maso Thaler.

Although within that context, the work at the Maso Thaler, which was founded in 1812 and is located at an elevation of more than 600 meters, is anything but a walk in the park. “Our vineyards in Gleno are very steep, many of them are terraced, and just for that reason alone, only work by hand is called for in many locations,” Motta explains. So not only is a lot of sweat necessary to manage the Maso Thaler, heart and passion are also needed.

This passion, the passion for winegrowing, was also what brought Motta here from Rome nearly twenty years ago. Since that time, he and his wife Anna Maria and their sons Filippo, Francesco, and Piergiorgio have tended 3.5 hectares of grape growing areas. Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay grow here, all of them supported by Guyot trellises.

But the focus is on Pinot Noir, because Motta believes that the perfect conditions are found here: porphyry soils, high temperature differentials between day and night especially in August and September, and a constant breeze. “All of that together provides for our wines distinguishing themselves through freshness, spiciness, and being able to last long,” Motta says.

At unusual locations, the focus has to be on unusual varieties. Or, to express it better, on extraordinary varieties. Konrad Delazer and his family do precisely that. At the Häuslerhof in Naz-Sciaves, and thus at the northernmost end of Alto Adige’s winegrowing zone, the Delazers work with Portugieser.

This grape is an old variety, the origins of which have to be sought in what is now Slovenia. It came into existence there as a cross between Blaue Zimmettraube and Green Sylvaner, and today it is a popular grape variety above all else in Southeastern Europe. In Central Europe, on the other hand, its area of cultivation is dwindling more and more. The decision by the Delazer family to work with precisely this variety at their Häuslerhof therefore means: swimming upstream.

Konrad Delazer does this with his wife, Karin – as the former Queen of the Apple Festival, “Her Majesty” – and their children Sabrina and Philipp on at least a part of their area of cultivation, which is situated at an impressive 820 meters above sea level. “We place great emphasis on Portugieser, but we also work with classic white wine varieties such as Müller Thurgau,” Konrad Delazer explains. “In the end, the Valle Isarco is an ideal white wine zone.”

Keeping his manageable vineyard area running matches perfectly with the lifestyle of Konrad Delazer. He may be a passionate winegrower, but for many years, he earned his daily bread as a cook. And in addition to that, Delazer is also something else that is not so frequently thought of with the traditional image of cook and winegrower: a certified mountain bike guide.

The Castel Sallegg winery certainly boasts excellent conditions for producing grand wines. The grapes are cultivated in three historic vineyards, each with its own distinctive terroir.
Seehof by Lake Caldaro, for example, lies just 230 to 280 meters above sea level, creating an ideal climate for grape varieties that prefer warmer temperatures such as Merlot, Lagrein, Cabernet Sauvignon and Moscato Rosa. The VIGNA Bischofsleiten is the origin of the multiple award-winning Lago di Caldaro, named after that very lake.

A bit higher up at 500 meters above sea level and beyond lie the Leisenhof and Preyhof vineyards. Located in the heart of Caldaro, Leisenhof is where mainly white grape varieties are cultivated, while Preyhof features mostly Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir.

In addition to the conditions set by Mother Nature, the taste and quality of the Castel Sallegg wines depend in great part on the care and skill the grapes receive from the cellarer, of course. Descending the three stories and eleven meters down into the 1000-year-old wine cellar takes you on a journey into the past. In this solemn and quiescent atmosphere, the wines ferment all year round under controlled temperature. This wine estate was founded on tradition and history, and the work ethic is infused by curiosity and a passion for innovation. That is why Castel Sallegg is the first winery in Alto Adige to fill their wines into innovative and exclusive lightweight bottles that are made from 100% recycled glass and feature details such as the s ommelier’s top.

And at the Castel Sallegg winery, the grand and elegant wines make for a truly special drinking experience.

The Köfererhof in Novacella works with special vineyards and under special conditions. At an elevation of nearly 800 meters, the climate is somewhat harsher, the temperature differentials between day and night are greater, and the grapes mature somewhat later than in the classic grape growing zones. But who says that all that has to be a disadvantage?

In any case, the Köfererhof in Novacella (in the community of Varna) is among the oldest winegrowing estates in the Valle Isarco. The ancients already knew to appreciate the harsh conditions here around the Novacella monastery. And so do Gaby and Günther Kerschbaumer, who today are responsible for the 5.5 hectare vineyards of the Köfererhof. “With certain work, harsh conditions are in no way negative,” says Günther Kerschbaumer, “and they even contribute to the creation of intense, mineral-rich, juicy, and complex white wines.”

As a passionate winegrower, he certainly knows that, and some 48,000 bottles of this wine leave the winery at the organically managed Köfererhof year after year. They are exclusively whites, first and foremost Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Müller Thurgau, and Kerner. The harvest of the latter provides particular challenges, since there is actually not one Kerner harvest, but rather three. “With the first one, especially fresh wine is made; with the second, the bulk is harvested, and with the third, a complex, complete wine is created,” Kerschbaumer says.

So that’s a lot of work under harsh conditions. But who says that all that has to be a disadvantage?

Three generations of vintners – With a passion for wine-making

We are down to earth, but also innovative. We have great respect for Nature, and cultivate grapes only at the appropriate locations. That describes, in a nutshell, the philosophy of the Niklas winery. We view our family heritage as a responsibility to shape and maintain a South Tyrolean wine-growing estate like no other. It embodies the know-how and motivation of three generations of vintners, and is a place where outstanding South Tyrolean red wines typical for their location are created. In the meantime, Dieter Sölva guides the estate’s continued development. Dieter learned the business from his father, Josef, the founder of the Niklas winery, whom he succeeded. Dieter’s son Michael is already adding his unique handwriting to the family business – whose wines are now being marketed throughout the world.

In the colorful mosaic of Alto Adige winegrowing, there are larger and smaller tiles. The Kiemberger Estate Winery in Terlano, with an annual production of just around 8,000 bottles, is among the smaller. Nevertheless, something would be missing if this tile weren’t there.

The Kiemberger Estate Winery is located in the winegrowing village of Terlano in the Adige Valley, with its vineyards in the village itself and in neighboring Andriano. On a total of just 1.5 hectares of grape growing areas, Chardonnay, Müller Thurgau, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc are grown, which form the basis for the classic Terlano wine. “The first three grow on a sandy-loamy limestone soil in Andriano, while the Sauvignon Blanc, on the other hand, is planted in Terlano, where it finds a sandy porphyry soil,” explains Norbert Kofler, winegrower at the Kiemberger Estate Winery.

Kofler has been making his own wines since 2007 and also markets them independently. “Our wines must first and foremost meet our own demands,” Kofler says. To do so, the grapes are harvested in the second half of September, they are pressed gently, and then the mash is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a constant temperature of 19 degrees Celsius. “Our wines are matured on the fine yeast, primarily in small and medium-sized oak casks, for at least eight months with the Terlano Classico and up to 32 months with the Lagrein Riserva,” the winegrower says.

The wines that are created in this way are “originals strong in character,” says Kofler, in which the properties of the soil and the vintage can be tasted. “Our wine is anything but mainstream,” the head of the small but impressive Kiemberger Estate Winery says. He goes on to add, “And yet it is somehow classic.”

Here the brute force of a bunker, there the elegance of a sparkling wine: the San Paolo Winery has brought together two apparent opposites, and it has been doing so since 1979. In that year, the first bottles of sparkling wine were filled and stored to mature in a bunker from World War Two. The result of that experiment is Praeclarus, which today is one of the calling cards of the San Paolo Winery.

Two hundred winegrowing families belong to the cooperative. They tend 185 hectares (457 acres) of vineyards in a spectrum of elevations that ranges from 300 to 700 meters (900 to 2,300 feet). The Chardonnay grapes that make their way into Praeclarus grow above the village at an elevation of around 500 meters (1,600 feet).

“This is the place where the grapevines find their optimal conditions,” explains Philipp Zublasing, winemaker at the San Paolo Winery. “On one hand, deep chalky soils; on the other hand, prominent temperature differentials between day and night which contribute to the special aroma of Praeclarus.”

This sparkling wine is produced strictly according to the classic méthode champenoise, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle. The maturation time on the fine yeast amounts to at least forty-eight months, which the Praeclarus spends in the bunker. The temperature there is at a constant 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit), which is therefore ideal for a maturing sparkling wine. And incidentally, visitors can be convinced twice over: with a visit to the winery along with an excursion into the sparkling wine bunker, and of course with a bubbly glass.  

“My interest is aimed at wines that are not subject to conventions, but rather are proud, or even bold, to display their own character.” Hartmann Donà, head of the estate winery in Cornaiano that bears his name, doesn’t do things halfway. And that can first and foremost be tasted in his wines.

The foundation for a good wine is formed by a thorough understanding, and an interpretation built upon that, of soil, grape varieties, climate, and their interaction. Donà makes reference to that when he says, “Only in that way can unique originals come into existence – with the fine differences from year to year that characterize only unadulterated natural products.”

For Donà, what was therefore necessary first of all was to understand his sunny, airy vineyard at 450 meters above sea level in Cornaiano, the glacial moraine soil that is its base, and the gnarled, 40 to 50 year-old vines. To understand how through careful nurturing that is close to nature, a low number of small-berried, flavorful grapes are produced. And how from them, 35,000 to 40,000 bottles of wine can be created “with elegance and harmony, with Alpine freshness and a mineral-rich quality,” as Donà himself describes his wine.

The winegrower has very obviously understood all of that, and even understood it very well. His wines – Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, and an elegant Lagrein –are regarded as exciting, as wines with depth and breadth, as those for the serious connoisseur. Or, as Donà himself puts it, “Wines that do you good.”

WeineWolf – the product of a passion for nature. “Making wine from what Mother Nature provides” – that is the philosophy that persuaded Wolfgang Ladurner to become a vintner. What was originally a dream developed over the years into a project and was finally fulfilled in the form of a winery of his own. As a boy, he spent many days in the vineyards and became familiar with the rhythm of the vines. In 1990 Wolfgang Ladurner founded W.Ladurner GmbH, a company that specialized in importing and selling recycling plants. But at the back of his mind he was always dreaming of making his own wine. In 2002 he moved a step closer to his goal by buying a first plot of land, which he started to cultivate in 2004.

How he was going to do it was clear from the start: His vineyard was to be terraced and laid out for dense planting to obtain optimum results from the site. Step by step, he hunted out other sites in Caldaro that had the location, climate and soil to offer ideal conditions for wine-growing. With the foundation of the WeineWolf company in 2013, Wolfgang Ladurner’s childhood dream of making wine out of a passion for nature finally came true. His next goal is to build his own cellar, a project that will bring the Ladurner family and lovers of wines from WeineWolf still closer together.

When Lake Caldaro is mentioned, those whose ears perk up are not just people who love a beautiful landscape, but above all else wine connoisseurs. At the Rösslhof, both will completely find what they are after: the former thanks to the ideal location of the estate winery right on the lake, and the latter because of the outstanding wines that are made at the winery.

It is Emma Ambach Psenner who has taken over the baton there and leads the estate winery today, which has been run by her family for generations. Building on this tradition, what is found in the product line of the Rösslhof are above all else the classic varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Schiava, and Lagrein. And for these, one clear guiding principle holds true: “It is a priority for us to best reflect the special landscape of Lake Caldaro, the location, and the climate in our wines,” the winegrower says.

Wine connoisseurs can best be convinced that this is successful right on site. After all, the Rösslhof runs its own farmhouse wine bar at which it is possible not only to taste your way through the entire product line, but also enjoy doing so with traditional Tyrolean home cooking. And if the wines from Emma Psenner turn out to be convincing, they can be purchased at the winery shop. And whoever would like to know how they are made will enjoy an excursion through the vineyards. Nothing is left out in terms of what plays a role in the world of winegrowing.

Mutual assistance: the idea of the cooperative had broad repercussions at the end of the nineteenth century and also caught up the winegrowers on Andriano. In 1893, they took a step that was as daring as it was far-sighted and founded the first cooperative winery in South Tyrol. Today, the winery works under the umbrella of the Cantina Terlano, and thus the cooperative idea is as lively as ever.

Even if the cooperative’s history is a long one, that of winegrowing in Andriano is even substantially longer. The Mediterranean climate, the refreshing katabatic winds, the well-aerated chalky soils: all of these are optimal conditions, and specifically equally for both red and white varieties. “On the gentle southern to southeastern slopes of Andriano, the late-maturing varieties enjoy a particularly high number of hours of sunshine, while on hot days, our white grapes on the slopes with a predominantly eastern exposure benefit from the coolness that is present early in the day,” explains winemaker Rudi Kofler.

From this starting position and building upon careful, prudent work in the vineyard, grapes that have been harvested exclusively by hand come to the cooperative’s winery. That is where the red wines – Lagrein, Merlot, and Pinot Noit – are aged in large oak barrels or small oak casks, while the whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Blanc) are aged in stainless steel tanks.

“Our goal is to create classic wines that are shaped by terroir, that are powerful yet elegant, well structured, and multilayered,” the winemaker says. Directed toward that goal are the efforts and work of all involved – completely in keeping with the idea of the cooperative.

Creating wines with character. That is the goal of Paul Huber at the Griesserhof in Varna. The winery is one of the northernmost in Alto Adige and focuses above all else on white wines. But Zweigelt and Pinot Noir are also grown there.

The foundation for winegrowing in Varna was created by the Ice Age. Gigantic glaciers left behind a fertile moraine hill there on which today primarily white wine grapes grow. Huber uses three separate vineyards at his Griesserhof: Gols, Gall, and Rigger.

The Gols hill lies in the middle of the valley, with the vineyards directly at the farmhouse. Wine grapes were grown here as early as the fourteenth century, as was recorded in the records of the Novacella monastery. So it is no wonder that the loamy, sandy soil is in fact ideal for a series of grape varieties. “For us, Gols is the best location for our Sylvaner,” Huber says. Gall, on the other hand, which is located at an impressive elevation of 800 meters, is the cultivation area for the Kerner of the Griesserhof, while Rigger in the warm basin in the Val Riga provides the best conditions for expressive Veltliner wines.

“It holds true for all of our locations that we only press the grapes with the best quality and work with them according to the most modern of standards of winery technology,” the winegrower explains, and adds with a few clear words, “It is important to us to make wines with their own character.”

“Class instead of mass” as the saying goes, but at the Jürgen Weitgruber Estate Winery in Merano-Maia Alta, that is a specification that is followed consistently. In the vineyard, in the winery, and in the no less than 1,500 hours of work by hand every year.

The district of Maia Alta in Merano lies somewhat above the center of the old capital of Tyrol, with its slopes being sundrenched and hot in the summer with the nights significantly cooler. The particular microclimate contributes to high grape quality and a broad spectrum of aromas in the wines that are obtained from them.

On top of that, the vineyards of the Jürgen Weitgruber Estate Winery are located at elevations between 300 and 600 meters and are therefore planted on very different soils: from fine sandy and warm to rocky with a rich skeleton. “So all of our grape varieties find the conditions that are suitable for their needs,” explains Weitgruber.
The estate winery’s product line comprises Pinot Blanc, Kerner, Schiava, Lagrein, Pinot Noir, and Regent, and what is made from them are crisp, fruity, fresh white and rosé wines and harmonious red wines filled with character. Wines that have to fulfill two characteristics in the philosophy of the Weitgruber family: “Our focus,” the winegrower explains, “lies in being and remaining authentic and providing people with joy in our wines.”

And that may sound like a platitude, but that, too, is pursued consistently at the Jürgen Weitgruber Estate Winery in Merano-Maia Alta: in the vineyard, in the winery, and in the 1,500 hours of work by hand every year.

#Herzblutmenschen [people of passion]. #Werteverfechter [champions of values]. #Emotionenschaffer [creators of emotion]. Anyone who follows the Castelfeder Estate Winery in Egna on Instagram knows that the wine production here may be linked with a lot of know-how, with the necessary knowledge, and with many years of experience, but also with a great deal of heart. “We are emotion, and we create emotion,” the Giovanett family says of itself, as its third generation is now running the estate winery.

The Castelfeder Estate Winery was founded in Egna more than 50 years ago by Alfons Giovanett, but since that time, hardly anything has remained the same. “The product line has been expanded, production has increased, the processes in the winery have been modernized, and the market has become more international,” says Günther Giovanett, who took over the estate from his father Alfons and runs it with his children Ivan and Ines. Today, the Castelfeder Estate Winery encompasses 65 hectares, on which 70 percent is planted with white wine varieties.

“The focus is on Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc,” Giovanett explains. With the red wines, the concentration is on Pinot Noir.

But whether it is red wines or white wines, little has changed with the philosophy of the Castelfeder Estate Winery over the past 50 years. “The special feature of our wines is how they are grown,” Giovanett explains. “We divide every smallest plot in order to be able to attend to the needs of the grapes as well as possible.” That is how terroir wines with a particular character come into existence. Or, in keeping with Insta-jargon: #terroirwineswithheart

From Karl to Josef to Johannes: for a good forty years now, the baton of wine production has been passed on at the Bergmannhof. From father to son to grandson, from Pichler to Pichler. But the Pichler’s relay race with grapegrowing is substantially longer than that. It dates back to the year 1851 in which the family came into possession of the Bergmannhof.

As early as the seventeenth century, the Bergmannhof in Riva di Sotto-Appiano appeared for the first time in documents, and for nearly 170 years, the Pichler family has been operating it. But only in 1978 did Karl Pichler and his son Josef decide to go their own way and make wine themselves out of the grapes from their 2.5 hectares of vineyards. From the very beginning onward, great value was placed upon careful, prudent dealings with the vineyard and the vines, which also meant upon a lot of work by hand. “We try to work as close to nature as possible through the smallest targeted interventions,” Josef Pichler explains, “and thus to get the best from our grapes vintage after vintage.” Within that context, it comes in useful for Pichler that within that work, tradition and innovation flow together – in the form of knowledge from three generations.

Both of those ensure that the care and prudence continue, in the winery as well. “The maturation of our wines takes place for the most part in large wooden barrels with long periods of contact with the yeast and minimal use of sulfur, and we do without unnecessary fining and filtration,” Pichler says, describing the signature at the Bergmannhof. It is the signature of three generations.

The latest chapter (for the time being) in the history of the Ansitz Mairhof in Parcines, which is over 800 years old and carried historical preservation, began in 1930. It began with one woman and a requisite dose of courage. And it ends in a success story in the form of a family-run estate winery. Or to put it better, it has not ended by far, and the success story is still going.

In spite of having nine smaller children, Antonia Kofler – the mother of today’s senior boss, Matthias Bernhart – bought the Ansitz Mairhof in Parcines at auction during the period between the wars. It was necessary to scrimp and save for the investment in the truest sense of the word – and only slowly did the estate get going on its own two feet: with cattle, pigs, chickens, grain, hay, and potatoes.

In addition to the classic self-reliance goods, grapes were soon also planted at the Ansitz Mairhof, thus kindling a passion that has still not left the family to this very day. “There is a lot to do in the vineyard, spread out over the entire year,” Bernhart recounts. “But the best time comes in autumn, with the harvest.”

But after that, the work is not done, since at the Ansitz Mairhof in Parcines, they make wine with their own grapes. “The work in the winery requires a lot of diligence, precision, and of course the love of a good glass of wine,” says Bernhart with a smile. He and his family continue to develop this recipe with these three ingredients, and a good homemade wine has turned into aromatic gourmet wines: Riesling, Schiava, and Pinot Noir.

Are you a wine connoisseur? Then we have a game for you! We’ll give you the address of an estate winery and you tell us the grape varieties that are planted there. Impossible, you think? Well, then let’s start with the Steidlerhof in Bolzano. It can be found at via Santa Maddalena di Sopra, 1. Now you’ve got it, right?

We thought so! In Santa Maddalena above Bolzano, it’s easy to pick up two points with the types of grape varieties. After all, the wine which has made the name of the village renowned far beyond the borders of the province consists of around nine tenths Schiava and a small component of Lagrein.

And in its assortment on offer, it goes without saying that the Steidlerhof – located at via Santa Maddalena di Sopra, 1, you will recall – has a classic Santa Maddalena. But the Gasser family also brings other wines to the market. “We make a typical Sauvignon Blanc, for example, a dry Yellow Muscat, a full-bodied Muscaris, and a velvety Lagrein,” explains Rudi Gasser, who runs the Steidlerhof today.

The Gasser family has provided the historical farmhouse with a broad foundation. Growing grapes and making wine are not the only activity. Rather, the Gassers also operate a Buschenschank farmhouse inn and rent out vacation apartments. Both are able to take advantage of the location of the Steidlerhof high above Bolzano and from the view that can be enjoyed here: of the Dolomites, of the sea of houses of the provincial capital, and last but not least of the vineyards of Santa Maddalena.

And you know what’s growing there, right?

Two wines come from the Milla Estate Winery in Cortaccia. No more. Both are cuvées, both contain the same three grape varieties, both ferment in open wooden barrels, and both can be aged for a long time. Winegrower Gert Pomella thus concentrates on a small product line. But good things come in small packages.

Pomella tends nearly four hectares of grape growing areas at the Milla Estate Winery in Cortaccia. It is divided into seven different vineyards, all of which are on steep slopes and have heavy loam soils. That makes them the ideal location for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, which are grown at the Milla Estate Winery in Cortaccia. In different proportions, these three grape varieties form the foundation for the two wines from Gert Pomella: “Centa” and “Milla”.

When making the two wines, Pomella follows his own path. The fermentation takes place in open wooden and steel barrels, the cap of pressings is circulated several times a day – by hand. “I use the pressed wine to extend the physiological maturity of the wines,” the winegrower-slash-winemaker explains. Both wines then mature in small casks of French oak, and for a full 24 months. “I age my ‘Centa’ wine in used barrels and my ‘Milla’ in one hundred percent new barrels,” says Pomella, who then also lets his wines age for at least one year in the bottle.

A lot of time, a lot of expense, a lot of work for two wines. But you can taste it.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, when Franz Morandell built a farmhouse, he at the same time also immortalized his wife. Her name was Elisabeth, which in its loving nickname becomes “Lisele”. Today, the Lieselehof Estate Winery in Caldaro is an imposing estate in which the winegrowing knowledge of three generations meets together and where Werner Morandell has the say. He is the great-grandson of “Lisele”.

The fact that with this story, the Morandells inherited their passion for wine right from the cradle may sound like a platitude. Except that it is true. Werner’s grandfather was a winegrower, while his father Gottlieb-Amadeus attended to the grafting of young grapevines and produced rootstock for surrounding vineyard nurseries.

Werner Morandell also thoroughly devoted himself to winegrowing. He even wrote a book about it and along with his vineyard, he is a contractual partner of the Freiburg in Breisgau State Viticultural Institute in Germany. Within that context, the main attention lies with fungus-resistant varieties, on the organic cultivation of traditional grape varieties (such as Schiava and Cabernet), and on wines that are made in an ecologically friendly manner. “That means that during the vinification, only a few natural treatment agents are permitted, and we completely do without synthetic materials,” Morandell says.

The particular pride of the Morandells is wines that are made from exclusively fungus-resistant grapes for which no chemical herbicides are used in the vineyard and for which strict conditions are met for grape yields per vine. A separate brand name has even been developed for them: Green Mountain Wine.

Anyone who visits that Pfeifer family at the Pfannenstielhof in Bolzano will find themselves, after a somewhat unusual approach through the business zone, in the middle of vineyards. The Pfannenstielhof appeared in a document for the first time in 1561. The hereditary estate in now run in its seventh generation by Johannes Pfeifer along with his wife Margareth and their daughters Anna and Veronika. How is tradition reflected in the agricultural methods of today?

On one hand, in a management of the vineyards that is close to nature, but also in the concentration upon the indigenous grape varieties of Schiava and Lagrein. “We are a pure red wine operation,” says Pfeifer. “Our grapes originate only from the best, well-aerated areas and are grown exclusively on pergola trellises.” Pfeifer has always believed in the potential of these indigenous varieties. He is convinced that they are unique and precious grapes that clearly delineate themselves from the international singular taste.

The tradition then also becomes clear when Pfeifer explains the guiding principles according to which he makes his wine. In that regard, “down-to-earth” is the first term he mentions. He wants to make “sincere wines.” And with complete tradition: “The joy in drinking of course cannot come of short,” the winegrower says. And he’s right.

The Kreithof is an estate winery filled with tradition whose roots date back to the Middle Ages.
At that time, a farm was created on a cleared space (in Middle High German, Gereuth) on a hill above San Michele-Appiano, the name of which little by little came under the influences of dialect until it was transformed into “Kreit”. And the way it looks is also different than it was back then. In the eighteenth century, the farmhouse was expanded into a magnificent manor, with the house occupied and the land worked by the Raifer family since 1813.

Aside from how the farmhouse looks, the economic pillars of the farm have always included winegrowing from the very start. So today, Johann Raifer runs seven hectares of vineyard area. “By far the largest part of our grapevines grow at somewhat higher than 400 meters above sea level on sandy-loamy moraine soils around our farmhouse,” Raifer explains. Just one smaller vineyard that belongs to the Kreithof is located in the vicinity of Lake Caldaro.

A broad palette of grape varieties is planted that ranges from Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc to Yellow Muscat and Goldmuskateller to Schiava, Pinot Noir, and Lagrein.